The following copyright article appeared in a 1996 edition of the Decorah Newspapers.
Used with permission.
The number of Nordic Fest visitors seeking housing through the Fest board of directors is "up tremendously" this year, according to Jill Amdahl, housing coordinator for the past four years.
"They're coming from all over," Amdahl said of visitors to the 30th annual Nordic Fest. She fielded calls from Fest visitors from California to Florida and from Virginia to Michigan.
Amdahl said Monday that out-of-area visitors planning to attend the Fest but without lodging are now being referred to motels in La Crosse, Wis., Prairie du Chien, Wis. and Rochester, Minn.
Decorah motels are booked as much as two to three years in advance and have long been filled, she added.
The Fest housing coordinator, who as the board's vice president assumes the board presidency next year, said as early as two weeks ago she already had placed more people this year than in any other year of her tenure. She also said housing at Luther College, some of which is not air conditioned, is also full for this year's Fest.
Amdahl said there are two basic sets of people who open their private homes to Fest visitors. One set expects to be reimbursed for housing the visitors, while the other set wants to house entertainers for free to have the experience of having them stay for a short stint.
This year, the Luren Singers volunteered to provide housing for about 70 people from Norway who will be performing at the Fest. Amdahl said the singers volunteered to house the Norwegians because they come from an area of Norway where the singers stayed during a visit to that country last year.
"They thought this was a good time to repay those people," Amdahl said.
No comments:
Post a Comment